Kingston: An emotional Usain Bolt recovered from a moderate start to win his final 100 metres sprint on home soil, clocking 10.03 seconds at the IInd Racers Grand Prix here Saturday.
The multiple Olympic and world gold medallist, who will retire after August’s World Championships in London, confessed to being a nervous wreck before running his last race on Jamaican soil.
“The run, it was just ok. I must say it was ok. I don’t think I’ve ever been that nervous running a 100m,” Bolt said after a lap of honor before a packed stadium, including International Association of Athletics Federations President Sebastian Coe and the top brass of Jamaican politics including Prime Minister Andrew Holness.
“I think that was possibly one of my worst race. My execution was poor, my start was poor as always. I think in the last bit I lost it a little.
“But I didn’t expect anything spectacular… my first race since January when I ran a 150m and some relays in Australia so I just wanted to stay injury free, put on a show for the crowd and shown them I’m thankful for the support over the years.
“Just the atmosphere and the people, the support they came out and give me tonight, it was really nerve racking. I never expected this, I knew it was going to be Big, the stadium was jam packed so thank you guys for coming out and supporting me.”
Running from lane five, Bolt took control of the race before the halfway mark and pulled away to the delight of more than 30,000 spectators.
“It’s Big to see everybody that turned out. It shows what I’ve done for the sport is a big deal to them and they really appreciate it,” said the 30-year-old.
“So thank you and it was my honour to put the sport of track and field at the top and to continue to dominate. I’ll try my best even when I’ve hung up my spikes, to really continue to push track and field in anyway possible.”
The double sprint world record holder, who has amassed eight Olympic golds and 13 World Championship medals, will make his final bow in August in the British capital, where he will only run the shorter sprint despite having a wildcard for the 200m.
